My name is Nick French and I am a collector. And, yes, it can become an addiction. I used to shop because I enjoyed shopping and often the pleasure came not from the item bought on eBay, or other sites, but from winning the auction.

A mix of being single and being blessed with a good income meant that my disposable income was high. Very soon my house became a museum for toys, records, cassettes, CDs, comics, comic art, videos and DVDs, watches and a whole host of other sometimes useless but to me desirable items.

Pleasure and enjoyment

But don’t get me wrong, I didn’t collect for the sake of collecting and I certainly never bought anything with an eye on its resale value; I bought things because I liked them. I displayed my art and toys; I read my comics; I watched the DVDs and I played my records, cassettes and CDs. I was a collector but I was also a consumer.

Now that I am of an age where I am selling everything, if I make any money from the sales then that will be by accident and not design. As I said in my previous articles on this topic, I am an accidental investor.

Everything has a price

There is a quote from Anne Bishop that says, “Everything has a price, it’s just what you’re willing to pay for it” and this could be the mantra for all retailers and auctioneers. It is something that it very pertinent in my thinking at the moment as I start to sell off my collections. This year, I have had success in selling my music collections at auction and so, as I do, I thought it might be of interest to others who might, in varying degrees, be considering doing the same.

The decline of physical products

Only a few years ago, you couldn’t sell vinyl records for love or money. Even charity shops put an embargo on accepting donations of LPs and singles as they simply couldn’t sell them again.